


She is the Spring

by Manika18



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Gore, Love, Reconciliation, Redemption, Spring, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 13:14:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12433605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manika18/pseuds/Manika18
Summary: Sasuke is all locked-up in the prison with nothing but torture to accompany him. But on the festival of Hanami (Flower Watching), someone decides to pay a visit to him...





	She is the Spring

**Posted on: 21/10/17**

**A/N: I had originally written this as a promotional fic for the SasuSaku Fest, so I guess some of you might’ve read it there. But since I edited this, I have decided to repost this fluffy fic on my personal accounts as well.**

**Hope you guys like it! :3**

* * *

 

As the faint rays of sunlight peeked-in through the small iron-barred window of his cell and fell upon his blindfolded eyes, Sasuke Uchiha shuddered in realisation of the fact that yet another torturous morning has arrived. Another morning where they’ll drag him out towards one of those interrogation rooms and throw him on the stool; Ibiki Morino sitting directly opposite him. Then they’ll start-off with the usual questions and as always he’ll remain tongue-tied because truth be told, he really has nothing to inform them. Nothing at all…So when their talking won’t work, they’ll begin removing the numerous bindings and the straightjacket from his form to start with the real stuff. They’ll pull out all kinds of knives and needles and pliers and whatnot!

He shuddered again and instinctively huddled closer to himself in one corner of the cell. The sensation of his fingers being broken and then mended in an iterative manner was still fresh in his mind. This is the worst part of all these sessions— they break his bones and burn his skin and then don’t even heal him completely. And this partial treatment of his wounds is what keeps him awake for most part of the night, the other part being his sleep full of nightmares.

He sighed again and waited anxiously for another one of those nasty guards to fetch him for the day. To his surprise, an hour elapsed without anyone entering his cell. Then another hour passed…and another..and another..and then, all of a sudden he heard the echoing of footsteps descending down the stairs that led to the dungeon and finally stopped before his cell. He felt as if he were being watched but no one actually spoke.

“Get him already.” One of the anbu guarding his cell spoke up.

The man that he felt was watching him, responded, “No..not today. I just came to inform you that we are celebrating today so you guys must also join us for the evening.”

“Who’ll guard this little monster?” Another of the anbu guards joked.

“Ah..well..Lord Hokage is looking for someone who’ll willingly waste their time watching over him instead of enjoying the festival.” The unknown man informed.

“I see. Then..we’ll leave here and join you as soon as that person arrives.” The first guard assured.

“Farewell then.” The man left.

Left…

Without any words about him being required to be sent to the torture department’s room or anything like that and Sasuke let out a breath in relief. He knows that today is some kind of celebration day in Konoha as he had heard cheerful banter of children and excited conversations between some elders through that small window in his cell. He didn’t really care much but still, a small part of him felt irritated at being left out of all of this even though he has returned peacefully and with no ulterior motives of revenge. He must not be locked-up inside some stingy, dark, underground prison. He should be allowed to reclaim the Uchiha compounds as their sole-surviving owner and even be given freedom to rejoice with Team 7. How much do they want him to suffer before finally granting him pardon? He was just an adolescent driven by revenge...

He sighed again and tried to get some sleep…

.

.

“I said..it’s an order from the Hokage!”

Those were the first comprehensible words that reached his ears when he woke-up. Instantly he shot-up from his supine position to listen more clearly.

“Heh! And what?! The Hokage sent you?!” The guard guffawed.

The other one added, “Yeah..like..I don’t want to be rude but..out of all those sycophants in this village, Hokage chose you?!”

“Ofcourse he didn’t choose me! I wanted to come and so, I did!” ,stated the third person, their voice sounding feminine and known.

Sasuke tried to run the gears in his brain to recall this weirdly, well-acquainted presence but nothing showed-up in his mind’s eyes. It was when he felt that female walking past the guards towards his cell that a soothing sort of chakra tingled his senses. Instinctively, he took in a deep inhale of the air and a very faint but alluring scent of jonquil engulfed his nostrils. He sighed in relaxation because only one person is blessed with this soothing chakra signature and the scent of love and desire— Sakura Haruno.

“What’s with that heavy bag?” One of the two guards asked her.

“Just go and see the Hokage and don’t forget to inform him that everything is well…under control.” She commanded and swiftly unlocked the gate of his cell.

He felt her trailing towards his hunched form. The scent of jonquil became stronger because of the proximity of their faces and she placed one of her dainty palms on his stubbled jaw. He gulped to calm his senses, waiting for her to proceed.

“Sasuke-kun..” she called softly in her innocent tone, “Would you mind getting-up?”

To everyone’s shock, he nodded like an obedient child and staggered into a standing position, her hand never leaving his face. She smiled at the docile action and with that same palm, began removing the blindfold over his eyes, releasing the binding jutsu using her other free hand. Not even allowing him to open them, she placed her palm on his closed eyelids and passed a surge of green healing chakra through the intricate ocular network of his eyes. Having done that job, she removed her palm and it was in that moment that he fluttered his eyes open, blinking them to adjust to the darkness of the room. She was the first thing that came in his line of sight and he couldn’t help himself but stare.

“Sakura” he greeted politely, reminiscing everything that he had done to her in the past.

“Sasuke-kun” she returned the greeting.

Surprising him, she smiled cheerfully, her irises flickering with joy and she moved her hands to undo the zipper of the straitjacket, followed by freeing him off the jutsu restraints. He stretched and flexed his limbs to ease some tension and lowered down a bit of the zipper of his high collared shirt to allow some air to his scarring chest. She gasped at the sight and immediately unzipped the shirt completely to have a better view of his injuries. Several cuts, lacerations and burns were covering his chiselled torso. Placing a hand shakily on his chest, she waited to see his reactions but none came. Sasuke on the contrary, merely shrugged and waited for her to do whatever the hell she was asking permission for. He knows that she’s surprised by his reaction (or lack thereof) but it’s not his fault that he has grown so used to pain that he doesn’t even feel it anymore.

From the distance a guard spoke, “Fine Haruno-san. We’ll be leaving but don’t get carried away by your emotions. There are other guards still watching from hidden spots.”

“Yeah!” The other one said, “And be careful. We don’t want him killing you and escaping.”

“I won’t.”

It was Sasuke who responded to the guard’s mocking statement in his husky-tone that was laced in threats of murdering them. He has already committed the sin of trying to take her life more than once and he doesn’t want to hear or do anymore of that. The guard immediately shut his mouth and began walking out towards the stairs.

.

.

After getting properly healed by his ex-teammate, Sasuke was made to sit down right next to her on the hard floor of his cell. Sakura took-off the heavy handbag slinging onto one of her shoulders and smiled again.

“It’s hanami, Sasuke-kun!” She said excitedly.

Realisation dawned upon him at that and things began clicking in his head. So all this hustle and bustle that he has been hearing about through his small window was for nothing but the Hanami Festival? For flower-gazing? But..then too, Sakura has chosen to stay with him for this celebration, leaving the much better option of the company of her friends and family?

“Why?” He asked quietly and she understood without him having to explain.

 "Well..Kakashi-sensei asked if I would like to join you and..I did?“ She replied sheepishly.

“No Sakura.” He shook his head in disapproval, “You have better people to see.”

“I’d rather stay here with you than join a group of people who don’t pay much heed to the fact that you saved their lives.” She hissed in her defense.

It’s true that nobody really gives a fuck that he, along with team 7 and Obito, are the ones who saved the whole shinobi world. But it doesn’t really bother him. What is seriously confusing, is her loyalty towards him. Even after everything that he has done, she is ready to forgive and forget. She still confides in him the way she used to when she was just twelve. He smirked at those nostalgic days and looked back at her with gratitude. She smiled and then, looked around the prison. She knows that there are still several guards watching their activities from the shadows but she just doesn’t care. Smiling sweetly at him, she did something way too unexpected. She placed a quick, lingering, chaste kiss upon his chapped lips.

It took him a moment to comprehend her act but he only turned his face away from her to hide the small tilt of his lips. The act didn’t faze him much. For him, it is like the most natural thing amongst them. She on the other hand blushed furiously when a guard coughed awkwardly, having witnessed the whole scenario.

To cover-up for her action, she hastily pulled out a sitting-mat and a Bento from her bag. Lastly she took out some candles and began lighting them. Instead of just watching her, Sasuke helped her in arranging the candles in different corners of the room to light up the cell. After that they sat back on the mat, which Sasuke noticed was embroidered in beautiful Sakura-no-hana designs, he felt the pangs of guilt hit him even harder. She _really_ shouldn’t be spending the Hanami with him.

What he didn’t know was that Sakura was feeling equally guilty in this situation. She silently opened the bento and muttered, “I’m sorry, I didn’t have enough time so I prepared only one box. Is it fine if we share?”

“Aa” He nodded and she smiled again.

He noticed the contents of the medium-sized lunchbox which consisted of strips of onigiri arranged alternately in shades of white and pink food-colouring in the centre of the box. On the left side, there was freshly cooked salmon and miso in one corner and some carrots and ferns in the other corner. To the right there was chicken karaage and sakuradai sushi. He wondered how much time Sakura had spent in the kitchen in order to cook such a delicious meal. A part of him wanted to ask but that would be too rude and direct. So he just watched her as she pulled out two small cups and a bottle of sake.

After taking up their chop sticks, Sakura joined her hands while Sasuke, because of the lack of his left arm, simply closed his eyes when she did and they prayed.

“Itadakimasu” Both of them spoke in unison and opened their eyes, their gazes locking onto each-other for a moment.

Then Sakura moved her hand towards the salmon but as she did so, she noticed the shaking of Sasuke’s palm. A chop stick fell from his grasp and he lowered his head. Worriedly, Sakura placed her own chop sticks down and began stroking Sasuke’s shaking palm. He hitched at the contact and she noticed that his whole form was shaking now.

“Sasuke-kun?” She glanced up at his bangs that were silhouetting his expression and patiently awaited his response.

“It’s..It's been five years since I last celebrated this with someone..” He mumbled so quietly that Sakura was sure that she was the only one who heard.

“Mother..she used to..she used to feed me with her own hands…” He added after a short pause.

After that no one spoke a word and Sasuke began sulking even more. He felt stupid because of his past sins. Once, he had spent a Hanami with team 7 as well when they were still together and he hadn’t yet committed the mistake of leaving his home village. If only he would’ve listened to his teammates those days…

“Sasuke-kun” His female teammate called him again and he tilted his head up only to come face-to-face with a piece of sushi being held close to his lips. He glanced at the pinkette’s hand holding the food item and then at her gentle smile, which appeared to be so much like his mother’s. Slowly, he opened his mouth and took in the piece, munching and swallowing it.

Sakura giggled at him and asked, “Feelin better?”, to which he nodded quietly.

“I can never take your mother’s place, Sasuke-kun but I can surely try to fill in for her…” She mumbled.

He nodded and opened his mouth again, waiting for her to continue feeding him. She smiled at his acceptance and continued with the task, alternating between feeding him and then eating herself.

“Hurry! We need to find a good tree!” They heard a kid yelling from that small iron-barred window and Sakura huffed.

She pouted her lips and mumbled sadly, “I’m sorry we couldn’t convince the council to allow you to have a proper celebration of the festival. I wanted to take you to watch a Sakura Tree as well but Homura-san and Koharu-san didn’t allow me and Kakashi-sensei.” She explained.

“It’s fine.” He assured.

“It’s not! What’s a Hanami without a cherry blossom? You can’t say that you celebrated it without even being able to gaze at the flowers.” She reasoned and glared at him.

Sighing, he passed a hand through his raven locks and gestured her to come forward. She stared curiously at his hand and he gestured again. When she finally complied and scooted her face closer to his, he poked her head with his index and middle finger. She was slightly taken aback and pouted.

“You are here.” He stated as if it was the most important part of this celebration. She didn’t understand the meaning behind his words and pouted even more, this time slightly puffing her cheeks as well.

He smirked and picked-up his long time abandoned chop sticks. Taking a piece of salmon, he brought it up towards her lips and waited for her to open up. She didn’t even budge so he touched the salmon softly to her lips, making her sigh in defeat. Biting into the meat, she kept pouting at him, making him smirk amusedly at her antics.

Sakura will not understand this but she really is more than enough. With her baby-pink hair and contrasting emerald eyes along with the scent of jonquil, she really is like the cherry blossoms in every aspect— beautiful and ephemeral. Watching his teammate is very much like watching those delicate flowers.

The Sakura Trees may symbolise the arrival of spring but for him, so does she. She has always been there for him. She is the only light in his dark life. She is indeed the spring personified…

“Sakura,” he called, staring directly into that beryl shade of emeralds, “Thank you…”

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**A/N: I’m trying to get back into writing do if you guys have any particular SasuSaku requests then send them over and I'll write 'em for you**


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